


Doubt Comes In

by jitteryfinch



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gem War, Mady writes another Pearl piece, Renegade Pearl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 07:16:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17018184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitteryfinch/pseuds/jitteryfinch
Summary: They call it victory. They call it freedom. What is true?Companion piece to True.





	Doubt Comes In

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [True](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16933683) by [jitteryfinch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitteryfinch/pseuds/jitteryfinch). 



The searing white light blinds her, the impact so loud that it fills her ears with a sharp hum. All she knows is Rose’s arm wrapped tight around her body, keeping her so close that she is practically crushed.

And wasn’t that what she’d wanted, after all?

It ends quickly, and she and Garnet are both released unceremoniously back to the ground. Pearl struggles to retain her footing, the flash still leaving her vision starry and unable to hear past the incessant droning. The strange colors swimming in front of her eyes finally begin to settle, and the battlefield they are standing is unharmed but empty. Pearl looks first to Rose, as she always does, but the she is staring down at the ground, one hand presses tightly against her mouth as she blinks back tears. Something inside Pearl’s chest recognizes that look as if she were looking in a mirror.

A hand closes on Pearl’s forearm, and Garnet’s mouth is moving but Pearl only hears the ringing. Through the visor, she sees that the fusion’s eyes are fixed on a point behind her. She turns around just in time to see someone beginning to reform.

Pearl watches the gem- it’s Biggs, she thinks- as she grows to her normal size... and then does not stop.

A monster forms, and Pearl swoons.

 

She comes to somewhere warm, and she blinks until she is alert. She is back at their old base, but still there are no others. Still it’s only the three of them.

“I don’t understand.” Garnet’s voice is loud and frustrated, and Rose speaks so softly she can barely catch the words.

“Garnet.... Diamonds....irreversible... corrupted...

gone.”

Pearl pushes herself back to her feet, and she has never seen Garnet move faster. Again she is pulled into a tight embrace, her arms trapped against her sides, looking over the taller gem’s shoulder to a shellshocked Rose.

“Pearl.” The little gem has always seen Garnet as infallible, and feeling her shoulders shake- with relief? exhaustion? fear?- feels like the end of the world.

Rose is just standing there.

Pearl’s silence seems to unnerve the fusion, and she pulls back enough to settle strong hands on thin shoulders, taking a moment to dismiss her visor. The tears rimming her eyes make Pearl dizzy.

“Pearl, be all right. Say something.” Garnet’s fingers dig into her, and her words find her at last.

“What happened?” Pearl manages, and she is looking through Garnet to Rose.

Rose is just standing there.

“The Diamonds have done something terrible.” Rose speaks at last, and it now it is clear why she has been silent; tears are already flowing down her face. She knows how heavy her words hang. “We are the Crystal Gems now. Everyone else has been corrupted.”

Corrupted. Pearl would have buckled in half if Garnet wasn’t holding her up.

“Biggs? Bismuth?” She stammers, and Rose finally moves to stand beside them, one hand coming to each of their backs.

“It’s only us now.”

Pearl has heard those words from Rose before, and they had been like a dream. Now it feels like a blow.

“That’s not enough.” Garnet growls, and Rose nods her agreement.

“I know, but we’ve won now.” Rose insists, though her expression exudes anything but triumph. “We’re free.”

Pearl’s hand covers her mouth, and she knows Rose thinks she is telling the truth. She heaves a sob, and Rose’s hand moves in soft circles on her back.

“Hush now.” She coos softly, and Pearl’s tears drip silently down her chin as she is quieted. She knows Rose didn’t mean to give her an order. It doesn’t make a difference.

Garnet is the first to sink to her knees, and Pearl wonders, as they hold each other, if Rose can feel the Diamonds’ eyes turn away from Earth at last.

She wonders.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! All I seem to write about is Pearl! Kudos and comments are really appreciated!


End file.
